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Friday, 22 March 2013

Goblinproofing wins Diagram Prize for oddest book title

A publication
named Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop has been named as the winner of the
Diagram Prize for oddest book title of the year.

The book claimed 38% of an online vote, beating
rivals including How Tea Cosies Changed the World and God's Doodle: The Life
and Times of the Penis.

The title, written by Reginald Bakeley, gives
practical advice on how to banish fairies from your home.

More than 1000 people voted in the poll for the
website welovethisbook.com.

The Diagram Prize was set up by Bruce Robinson in
1978 to prevent boredom at the annual Frankfurt Book Fair, with Proceedings of
the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice the inaugural winner.

Diagram Prize administrator Philip Stone, charts
editor for The Bookseller - welovethisbook.com's sister website - said:
"People might think it is just a bit of fun, but it spotlights an
undervalued art that can make or break a work of literature.

"Books such as A Short History of Tractors in
Ukrainian, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and The Curious
Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time all owe a sizeable part of their huge
successes to their odd monikers."

He added:
"The kind of niche, off-beat publications that often appear on the Diagram
Prize shortlist might not make their writers or publishers rich beyond their
wildest dreams, but the fact writers still passionately write such works and
publishers are still willing to invest in them is a marvellous thing that
deserves to be celebrated."

Bookseller
diarist Horace Bent said: "In Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop the public
have chosen a hugely important work regarding the best way to protect one's
fowl from the fairy realm's most bothersome creatures.

"Everyone
knows well the hazards cats, dogs and foxes hold for owners of chickens, not to
mention red mite, but the public has recognised the need to illuminate this
hitherto under-reported nuisance."

The award was
accepted by the book's US editor Clint Marsh, who said: "The Diagram Prize
celebrates the playfulness that is at the heart of much of the world's best
book publishing.

"Reginald
and I take this as a clear sign that people have had enough of goblins in their
chicken coops. Our campaign against the fairy kingdom continues."

The other
titles shortlisted for the Diagram Prize were How to Sharpen Pencils, Was
Hitler Ill? and Lofts of North America: Pigeon Lofts.

Previous
winners include Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers, Highlights
in the History of Concrete, Bombproof Your Horse and last year's recipient
Cooking with Poo.